Fire-escape.



J. P. A. KLETTKE.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1912'.

1,055,282, Patented Mar. 4, 1913. J 2 BHEBTS'SHEET 1. 414? l COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH (111.. WASHINGTON, D. c

J. P. A. KLETTKE.

FIRE ESCAPE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1932.

Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

M W M 8 w M a JULIUS F. A. KLETTKE, 0F CARNEY, MICHIGAN.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 10, 1912.

Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

Serial No. 702,823.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUs F. A. Knn'r'rnn, citizen of the United States, rcsiding at Carney, in the county of Menominee and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful, Improvements in F ire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fire-escapes, and has for its object the provision of a simple and inexpensive apparatus which may be carried from place to place in a satchel or trunk and be readily applied to a window sill in case of necessity.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fire'escape by which a person may lower himself from a burning building and reach the ground in safety.

The invention also has for its object to improve, generally, the construction and arrangement of the parts of a portable fireeseape to the end that the efliciency of the same may be increased.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully described, the invention consisting in certain novel features which will be more particularly pointed out in the claims following the description.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved fire-escape showing the same in operative position upon the wall of a building; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fire-escape; Fig. et is a longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the cable-engaging dog.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a suspending device comprising a pair of spaced plates 1 connected at their upper ends by a block or bar 2, thereby forming an inverted U-shapcd body, to the upper end of which is secured a hook or bracket 3 adapted to engage over the sill of a window, as will be readily understood from Figs. 1 and 2, to thereby suspend the device upon the outside of the building adjacent the wall of the same. In the lower ends of the spaced plates 1, I mount a shaft 4t which extends between the said plates and has a pulley or guide roller 5 mounted thereon. This pulley or guide roller 5 is provided with an annular groove 6 in which the cable or other support, 7, runs, and above the said pulley or guide roller, between the said side plates l, I pivotally mount a dog 8 having its lower end recessed or notched, as indicated at 9, whereby it may span the bight of the cable, and in this recess is fixed a pin 10 adapted to enter the cable and prevent movement of the same in one direction. The cable or flexible support 7 is endless, and the dog 8 is so disposed as to extend toward the wall of the building, so that the cable may move toward the wall over the guide roller or pullcy, but will be prevented from moving over the said pulley or guide roller in a direction from the wall.

Upon the outer run of the cable, I mount a clutch consisting of blocks 11 having grooved inner faces in which are seated elastic cushions or friction members 12 which are preferably formed of rubber but may be of any other suitable material. The blocks or plates 11 are connected by means of links 13 which are pivoted to the respective blocks at the sides thereof and bridge the space between the blocks, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. At the upper ends of these clutch members ll, I provide coiled springs it which tend to normally hold the upper ends of the said n'embers together, so that pins 15 on the inner faces of the members near said ends will pierce the cable 7 and thereby secure the clutch positively to the cable. The inner faces of the clutch members ll. are substantially convex longitudinally, so that, when the upper extremities of the members are brought together to clasp the cable, the lower ends of the members will be separated, and likewise, when the lower ends are brought together, the upper ends will be separated and released from the cable. To the lower ends of the said members, I secure cables 16 having a basket or cage 17 secured to their lower ends, and when weight is placed in the said basket or cage, the cables 16 will be at once drawn taut. so that the lower ends of the clutch members will be drawn together and the upper ends thereof separated, thereby releasing the clutch from the cable so that the clutch, with the basket suspended therefrom, may descend by gravity to the lower bight of the cable.

Above the clutch members 11, I provide a brake consisting of parallel similar shoes 18 which are disposed at opposite sides of the cable and are shaped to be conveniently and comfm-tably grasped by the hand of the person occupying the cage or basket. The inner opposed faces of these shoes are longitudinally grooved so that they may fit closely around the cable, and in these grooves, I provide the rubber or other friction faces 19, so that, when the shoes are pressed against the cable by the operator, the friction created will retard descent, so that the basket will not be apt to strike the ground with such force as to injure the occupant.

The shoes are held together around the cable by keeper plates 20 which are secured to the ends of one shoe and project over the ends of the other shoe and are provided with longitudinal slots 21 engaged by headed pins or bolts 22 projecting from that other shoe. The shoes will thus be permitted a movement to and from each other but will be prevented from becoming entirely separated.

The operation of my improved fire-escape will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. Then it is necessary for the occupant of a room to use the device, the hook or bracket 3 is placed over the window sill and the device suspended therefrom, as shown in the drawings and as hereinbefore stated. The person then enters the basket and grasps the brake, the weight of the person, after he enters the basket, releasing the upper ends of the clutch members 11 from the cable so that the basket tends to descend by gravity but will be retarded somewhat by the tendency of the lower ends of the clutch to frictionally engage the cable under the influence of the weight in the basket and the speed of the descent may be effectually regulated by the pressure exerted upon the brake. \Vhen the basket has reached the ground, the occupant steps therefrom and then draws downwardly upon the run of the cable closer to the wall, so that the basket, the clutch, and the brake will be drawn upward to the window from which it is suspended or a window below the same to permit its use by another person, it being understood that when the clutch is relieved of the weight of the loaded basket, the upper ends of the clutch members positively reengage the,

cable.

My improved fire-escape 1s exceedingly slmple 1n the construction and arrangement of its parts and will be found highly etli-v .device, a clutch consisting of pivotally connected members adapted at their upper ends to engage the cable, means for drawing the said upper ends normally together, a basket flexibly connected with the lower ends of the said members whereby when a weight is placed in the basket the upper ends of the members will be released from the cable, and a brake mounted on the cable above the said clutch members.

2. A fire-escape comprising a suspending device, an endless cable supported by said device, a pair of rocking clutch members disposed at opposite sides of one run of the cable and provided at their upper ends with means for engaging the cable, a yieldable connection between the upper ends of the clutch members adapted to draw their upper ends into engagement with the cable, a basket, a flexible connection between the basket and the lower ends of said clutch members whereby a weight imposed upon the basket will draw the lower ends of said members together and release the upper ends thereof from the cable, and a brake mounted upon the cable above the said clutch members.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

